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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · press · root · wax · firm · last · net · track

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. root — of a word
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. last — final
  8. track — to keep track
  9. last — finally
  10. press — to push
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — for catching
  13. press — a publisher
  14. firm — decided
  15. prune — to trim
  16. press — newspapers
  17. firm — steady
  18. track — a path
  19. firm — a company
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. net — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — a song
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com